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Wandering Through Barcelona

Some impressions from my wanderings – day time and night time – through the streets of Barcelona. The night time photos are from the Gothic quarter of the city – a beautiful, mysterious area. Don’t ask me why I have taken certain photos – they are quite random actually. Just like the wanderings, zigzagging through the streets and alleys. A detail here, some meaning there.

The only thing I have consciously done during the night time strolls is to take some pictures of bars and cafes at night. Those are for a lovely lady who goes by the name of Kismet – sometime back she had asked me if I could put up any pictures of cafes at night. So, during my wanderings, I thought about that request and have included some photos for her.

And while I’m at it, I’ll just say thank you, Kismet – for the beautiful verses you weave and share with us! Maybe someday we’ll meet and talk … on an evening in one such place over some chai. In the meantime, I hope that you find in one of these pictures what you were looking for.

The Venus is a lovely place with an easy atmosphere, nice music, a mixed Spanish & Lebanese cuisine, and a good selection of wines. It’s a place with a heart – literally. (Dec. 2014)

With its narrow streets, for anyone looking up the old buildings look quite imposing though they are not that tall. The tall windows and the narrow balconies add to that and to the flair. (Dec. 2014)

A Royal Enfield in an unusual turquoise – don’t dare call it a bike! Its a beauty! (Dec. 2014)

There is something surreal for me to see a citrus tree with fruit hanging from it and red flowers around its base – in December. (Dec. 2014)

With its maze of streets, the Gothic quarter is a fascinating place to walk… a peek in to one of the by-lanes can reveal something wondrous – like this stained glass window. (Dec. 2014)

The Venus is a lovely place with an easy atmosphere, nice music, a mixed Spanish & Lebanese cuisine, and a good selection of wines. It’s a place with a heart – literally. (Dec. 2014)

Rental bike stand opposite the Palau de la Musica. (Dec. 2014)

One of Gaudi’s works – the Casa Mila on the corner of Passeig de Gracia and Carrer de Provenca. (Dec. 2014).

Not sure how minutes I spent staring at this building…craning my neck, straining my eyes to take in what I thought was a really beautiful front for an old building. (Dec. 2014)

An Irish pub where “you’ll never drink alone”. Well, I went in and downed a Guinness at the bar while others shopped. (Dec. 2014)

The streets of the old city are quite empty on Christmas day – or we were out too early. (Dec. 2014)

There are quite a few restaurants and cafes around the Plaça Reial – I didn’t try any of those, but it was really nice to walk in the evening through the square just seeing people enjoying the mild coolness of winter sitting outside, eating, drinking, laughing, chatting…Plaça Reial seemed like a place where came leaving their cares behind… (Dec. 2014)

The curtain left halfway open – was someone observing the observer? (Dec. 2014)

An island fountain on the way to the Casa Batllo. (Dec. 2014)

Approaching the Fossar de les Moreres through a narrow lane – a memorial to those who died defending Barcelona in the siege of 1713-14. In the background is the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar. (Dec. 2014).

Some areas of the Gothic quarter get quite deserted after the shops close down. (Dec. 2014).

A look inside a passage connecting two streets. (Dec. 2014).

A bit of a posh place with live piano performances, where I managed to embarrass my Spanish friend by ordering black vermicelli for dinner (“That shows you are a tourist!”). Well. apart from my choice of dish, it is quite a nice place for a special dinner, I’d say. (Dec. 2014)

The Mercado de La Boqueria – closed for Christmas. (Dec. 2014)

The cathedral of Barcelona, in its dark Gothic glory, at night. (Dec. 2014).

The electric tree on the balcony outshines the natural one. (Dec. 2014)

Multi-coloured garlands of light giving Placa Reial not just a festive, but also a bit of a Tron-like look. (Dec. 2014)

A lone musician playing at the closed Mercat de Santa Catarina. (Dec. 2014)

A tapas place named after Antoni Gaudi – still too early for crowds to turn up for dinner. (Dec. 2014)

You must be gifted with the sixth sense to know what I did…or you know a way how smiles travel that I don’t.. 🙂 Apart from enjoying the excellent food and drink, I made a point to drink to your good health – of course, with a smile.. 🙂